Retail Sales Out This Morning

Retail sales data is out this morning, with expectations of a 0.6 percent gain, following July's lackluster performance of unchanged sales growth. Retail control, which excludes building materials, autos and gasoline, is expected to show a 0.5 percent increases. According to a Redbook Research report released Tuesday, national chain-store sales edged up 0.2 percent during in the first week of September from the same period in August, This beat expectations for a decline of 0.2 percent. The Johnson Redbook Sales Index also showed seasonally adjusted sales for the period rose 4.9 percent, above consensus for an increase of 4.4 percent, with sales driven by back-to-school items. The S&P Retail ETF XRT rose 0.9 percent yesterday, in front of today's release.